Cone and nicker arrangement for cigar machines



Nov. 12, 1940. s. cLAUsEN CONE AND NICKER ARRANGEMENT FOR CIGAR MACHINES Filed Deo. 24, 1937 FIG. l

Patented Nov. 12, 1940 NICKER A conm Cioran MACHINES Sigurd Clausen, BrooklynfNv'. Y., assigner to In'- ternation'al Cigar Machiner poration of New Jersey Company, a cori; 'serial No.181g553 crainte (crier- 9.1)

This invention relates to cigar machines, more particularly to the bunch Wrapping mechanism thereof and constitutes an improvement in the constructionof the mechanism for actuating vthe header cone and the nicker. .s

In certain rebuilt cigar machines it was found diicult to provide su'icientspace'for the'adjust.- ment of the angle of approach of the header cone, such as provided on the standard cigar machine. It was found that satisfactory operation on most shapes of cigar heads could be obtained by using substantially .a 20 degree angle of approach. Accordingly, the main object-0f the invention is to mountthe header cone or disk in a predetermined fixed relation on a1 cam lever or actuating member .swingable about an immovable axis which has a horizontal inclination of 20 degrees with the verticalplane passing through the longitudinal axisfof the cigar bunch within the wrapping mechanism, .to engage the tip of said bunch with a 20 degree angle-of approach. In former nonadjustable mechanisms for actuating the header .cones`,the latter ap-` proached the tip of the bunch atright angles thereto and were unsatisfactory inv that vthey tended to shift the flag on a number of shapes, such as marble heads. Thepresent construction also makes it possiblefto. dispensew'ith the intermediate lever heretofore used between. .the header cone cam and the spring-tensioned lever carrying the header cone. A further objectA of the invention is .toprevent injury to the header block on which the head end of the cigar bunch is supported. For this purpose the cam leverto which is fastened the arm carrying the headercone is equipped with a stop screw engaging a suitable abutment whenever there is no cigar bunch` on thel header block. Otherwise the spring-tension exerted lon 40 the cam lever would cause it to strike .the header block more or less forcibly and injure .the same. In the present constructionv the rotary nicker is carried into operative position by operating linkage consisting of a link having a lost motion connection with the header cone carrying lever and an adjustable connection ,withl the leveror frame carrying the rotary nicker knife. The said link may have a slot engaging a studl on vthecam lever and furnishing sufficient lost motion to compensate for the excess of the throw ofthe cam lever over` the necessary displacement 'of the frame carrying the nicker, to engage a friction wheel, mounted on said frame and driving the nicker'knifawith a=stationaryb driven pulley. The adjustable `connection ofthe-'nicker frame with the link may comprise a slot admitting Aa pin on the nicker frame, so that the adjacent end of the'link will engage an adjustable stop. screw on the frame., 'I'his stop screw may be setto vary the ultimate height of the nicker to obtain different depths of the nick formed in the flag end of the wrapper.

In prior constructions the nicker was operated from the intermediate lever referred to above, between the header cam and `spring-tensioned lever` carrying the header cone. Accordingly, still another ob-ject vof the invention is to actuate the nicker from the header cone carrying cam lever of the present construction and permit it to be adjusted toobtain various depths of nicks in thfag of the wrapper. With these and other objects notA specifically mentioned in View the invention consists in` certain constructions and combinations hereinafter fully described and then specifically set` forthA in the claims hereunto appended. lIn the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specicationand in which like charactersof reference indicate the same or like parts: v

Fig'. 1 is a plan View of a device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; and Fig. 3 is a partial end elevation thereof.

Referring to vthe drawing, a pedestal II) of the machine (shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 2) supports a cam shaft II and brackets I2 and I3. The bracket I2 carries a stud I4 on which is mounted aframe I5 having horizontally extending arms I6 equipped with trunnions I'I pivotally supporting a frame I8. The forked end of frame I8 supports a shaft I9 which is provided at its outer end with a beveled friction wheel 20 adapted to engage and be driven by a V-pulley 2I integral with a smaller pulley 22 which is suitably driven by a belt, not shown. The double pulley 2I-22 is loosely mounted. on a stud 23 carried by an arm 24 resiliently mounted on a stud 25 carried by the frame I5, in a manner, which will be hereinafter described. s An arm 26 clamped to a stationary sleeve 9- on the inner end Aof shaft I9 carries a strip 2l having an upwardly extending portion 23 serving as a ledger plate for a knife blade 29 secured against a flange on the inner end'of shaft I9 by a collar 30.

The bracket I3 is provided with a lug 3| carrying a stud 32 horizontally disposed at an angle of 20 degrees to the vertical plane passing through the longitudinal axis of the cigar, on which is fulcrumed a double cam lever 33 equipped with a cam roller 34 engaging a cam 35 secured on a sleeve 8 fastened to cam shaft II. The upwardly extending arm 36 of lever 33 has a stud 31 on which is clamped an arm 38 carrying at its upper end the stem 39 of the header cone 40. The bore in the free end of arm 36, which receives stud 31, is set at such an angle that the axis of the cone will pass through the tip of the cigar on which it is operating, and the cone is held in this position by a coil spring I 33 having one end fastened to the lever 33 and its other end anchored within the cap |34 fastened to the bracket I3 and enclosing the spring. The header cone is thereby yieldingly pressed against the tip of the cigar bunch and retracted therefrom by the cam 35. In the present invention the header cone is fixed at an angle such that its axis has a horizontal inclination of 20 to the vertical plane at right angles to the bunch axis and passing through the tip of the cigar. This has been found to be the average setting and is satisfactory for all shapes of cigars. With this arrangement a number of parts are omitted and the device made simpler than that of the adjustable type shown in the patent to J. F. Halstead, Re 20,355, granted May 4, 1937, as will be hereinafter described.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a group of rollers and 46 are supported in the manner shown in the above-mentioned Halstead patent and periodically driven to rotate the cigar bunch C'. There is further provided a wrapper carrier of usual construction (not shown) which -supports and delivers a wrapper to the cigar bunch lying within the group of rollers 45 and 46 whereby the wrapper is wound about the bunch in the usual manner. The particular construction of the rollers and of the wrapper carrier is well known in the art and further description thereof is deemed unnecessary to a complete understanding of the invention and is therefore omitted in the interest of brevity. 'I'he cigar bunch is deposited within the group of rollers with its head end resting on the header block 41, which is a form piece made especially for each cigar shape, and is stationarily attached to the bracket I3.

After the bunch is correctly positioned by mechanism of well known construction, the wrapper is started on the bunch by the usual camactuated tuck needle (not shown), which comes down upon the entering end of the Wrapper. The latter is guided oi the wrapper carrier at the proper angle upon the cigar bunch by a tension plate 49 (Fig. 3) suitably actuated by means well known, to hold it against the tuck end of the cigar so that the wrapper winds spirally around the bunch from its tuck end to its head as the bunch is revolved.

The tension plate 48 cooperating with the bunch rolling and wrapper delivering means has a ledge portion 49 at its end adjacent the head of the cigar, this ledge serving as a support for the flag F (Fig. 3) of the wrapper as it is being wound about the cigar head after it leaves the Wrapper carrier. wrapper flag carries a small quantity of paste applied thereto in any one of the various ways known in the art, and this pasted surface drags down over the ledge of the tension plate thereby tending to keep the iiag stretched as it moves over the ledge. Furthermore, it tends to hold the flag F of the wrapper against displacement as the knife 29 cooperating with shear plate 28 approaches and nicks the wrapper at the cigar Upon its under face the` head. The nicking of the wrapper assures perfect forming of the nag about .the head of the cigar,

A cam 50 loose on sleeve 8 on shaft I I and yieldingly connected to cam 35, as will be hereinafter described, has a segment 5I which in each cycle of the machine engages the rounded lower end of a finger 52 yieldingly mounted on a stud 53 carried by a projection 54 of lever 33. Finger 52 is normally locked against forward movement, while the cam shaft revolves in a clockwise direction by a plate 55 -attached to projection 54 and engaging a squared corner of the finger. A link 56 has a slot |56 engaging the head of the stud securing cam roller 34 to lever 33, and a slot I51 admitting the pin |58 on frame I8. The link is maintained in the desired relation on pin |58 by a stop screw |59 on frame I 8. The engagement of the segment 5I of the cam with iinger 52 raises the cam lever 33 and thereby lifts the link 56 with the arm I8 to raise the wheel 20 into engagement with the pulley 2I on arm 24, the latter yielding during the continued rising of the arm 24 against the tension of their respective springs 51 and 58 upon engagement of the cam roller stud with the inner end of the slot |56. The resulting frictional contact of wheel 20 and pulley 2| imparts motion to the knife 29 thereby nicking the ilag F of the wrapper. The displacement of the cam lever 33 at this time causes its arm 36 to descend and thus withdraw the header cone 40 from the cigar suifciently to clear the Way for ythe approach of the iiag cutter. When the segment 5I passes from under finger 52, the action of springs 51 and 58 permits finger 52 to first drop against an adjustable stop 59 on cam 50, causing withdrawal of the flag cutter after the same has performed its function and while the header cone is returning to its rolling or operative position. The ringer 52 in dropping on `to stop 59 takes the shock of the impact, while the header cone 40 is still some distance from the cigar, so that upon further rotation of the cam shaft the header cone will approach the cigar gradually without injuring the wrapper. If for some reason a cigar bunch should not be in the wrapping device when finger 52 leaves stop 59, a screw 60 carried by `arm 36 will stop against bracket I3 thereby preventing header cone 40 from striking form piece 41. The finger 52 upon leaving stop 59 permits the header cone 40 to rest on the head end of the cigar and commence rolling the ag portion of the wrapper about the same. The header cone 40 remains in its opera- -tive position until the high portion 62 of cam 35 engages the roller 34, thereby withdrawing the header cone from the cigar and allowing a transfer (not shown) of well known construction to remove the cigar from the rolling unit- By providing the slot |56 in link 56 any excess in the necessary throw of the cam lever 33 to retract the header cone during the nicking operation, over the requisite displacement 0f link 56 to engage the friction wheel 20 with the pulley 2I, will be compensated for by lost motion between these two members. Upon adjustment of the stop screw |59, the throw of the link 56 and frame I8 may be adjusted to vary the height of the nicker and thereby obtain different depths of nicks in the flag end of the wrapper. The initial position of the frame I8 may be controlled by adjustment of the screw |60 on which it normally rests.

The cam 50 may be displaced relatively to the cam 35 to obtain the correct timing of the cutting operation by means of an adjusting screw 65 carried by a holder 66 attached to cam 35 and bearing against a tail piece 61 of cam 50. A coil spring B8 (Fig. 3) placed in an axial recess of cam 35, has one end anchored in said cam and its other end anchored in the hub of latch 50. In this manner said spring holds the tail 61 against screw 65. The stop 59, whose position governs the distance from which the header cone commences its gradual motion towards the cigar for the final rolling of the ag, is adjustably mounted on the cam 50. Stop 59 is provided with a ridged face 10 registering with a correspondingly ridged face of cam` 50. r When said stop is correctly positioned it may be locked by a screw 'Il passing through a slot provided in the stop.

A spring 'l2 having one end anchored in the head of stud 53 and its other end fastened in finger 52 normally presses the squared corner of the same against stop plate 55 and thereby prevents forward pivotal movement of the finger 52. Therefore the nger 52 is free to yield and move backward to permit passage of the segment l when the wrapping device is manually turned in a reverse or counter-clockwise direction.

vVhat is claimed is:

1. In a bunch wrapping mechanism wherein a cigar bunch is revolved and a wrapper with a flag end is wound spirally about the revolving bunch, the combination with a support for the head end of the bunch, a cam lever swingable about an immovable axis disposed at an angle of substantially 20 degrees to a vertical plane passing through the axis of the cigar bunch on said support, a header cone supported from said cam lever in position to engage the head end of the cigar bunch on said support, a. revolving cam engaging lsaid cam lever for retracting said cone from said tip, a movable frame, a ledger plate mounted on said frame, a rotary knife also mounted on said frame and coactingwith said ledger to nick the flag end of the wrapper, a link having a lost motion connection with said cam lever and an adjustable connection with said frame to move said ledger and knife into adjacent relation with the flag end of the wrapper, and means for driving said knife to cause nicking of said ag end.

2. In a bunch wrapping mechanism wherein a cigar bunch is revolved and a wrapper with a ag end is wound splrally about the revolving bunch, the combination with a support for the head end of the bunch, of a cam lever, a header cone fastened on said cam lever in position to cigar bunch is revolved and a Wrapper with a:

flag end is wound spirallyabout the revolving bunch, the combination with a support for the head end of the bunch, of a cam lever, a header cone fastened on said cam lever in position to engage the tip of the head end of the cigar bunch on said support, a cam follower supported on said cam lever, a revolving cam engaging said cam follower and thereby actuating said cam lever for retracting said cone from said tip, a movable frame, a rotary nicker knife mounted on said frame and adapted to nick the flag end of the wrapper, and a member adjustably connected to said frame and adapted to be actuated by said cam lever for moving the nicker knife on said frame into nicking position whereby adjustment of the connection of said member tosaid frame will vary the depth of the nick formed in the wrapper flag end.

4. In a bunch wrapping mechanism wherein a cigar bunch is revolved and a wrapper provided with a flag end is wound spirally about the revolving bunch, the combination. with a support for the head end of the bunch, a cam lever swingable about an immovable axis disposed at an angle of 20 degrees to a vertical plane passing through the axis of the cigar bunch on said support, a header lcone supported from said cam lever in position to engage the tip of the head end of the cigar bunch on said support with the cone axis disposed at an angle having a hori- 

